Refrigerating apparatus



y 1930. s. M. SCHWELLER 1,760,176

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS v I Filed Oct. 26, 1927 2 SheetsSheet 1 May 27, 1930.

s. M. scHwELLER YREFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 26, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 retested av, ieeo innit SYLVESTER MVSCHWELLER, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE' ASSIGNMENT$, T ZFRIGIDAIRE CORPORATIQN, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Application filed October as, 1927. Serial: No. 228,919.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerating apparatus and more particularly the cooling units or refrigerating elements intended for general use in refrigerators of the mechanically operated type. i

It is one of the objects of the present invention to improve the construction of refrigerating elements of the finned duct type so that refrigerant will be conveyed in intimate contact to various parts of the fin for the efficient cooling of the entire fin and so that frost will not accumulate between adjacent ducts which 0001 the fin.

It is another object of the present invention 13 to facilitate and reduce the cost of manufacture of refrigerating elements employing ducts and fins Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

. In the drawings Fig. 1 represents a side view, in cross section of a'display case refrigerator equipped with the improved refrigerating element'of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of one section of the display case showing the refrigerating element in position therein;

' Fig. 3 represents a side view of the" refrigerating unit or element; and

Fig. 4 is a section of a portion of the unit or element taken on-line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the refrigerating element or cooling unit as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 comprises a header or tank 10 to which a refrigerating medium is supplied and by means of which the same is distributed to a series of cooling coils as hereinafter described. The refrigerating medium, which may be, forexample, sulphur dioxide, is led into the header preferably in liquid form through a pipe 11. A constant level of refrigerant is maintained in the header by means of a float valve, not shown. The vaporiz'ed refrigerant is led off from a space above the liquid level in the header by meansof a pipe 1% which returns the refrigerant to the compressing apparatus of the system which is not shownslnce it does not form a part of the present invention.

- A series of cooling coils are connected to the header. These comprise a plurality of dependent ducts or loops of pipe 13 and 14 which are connected to the header in parallel below the liquid level thereof and which hang downwardly into the air which the unit is intended to cool. The ducts are preferably flattened to facilitate the attachment of fins and to increase the effective radiating surface of the ducts without necessitating theuse of a large bore or increased refrigerant space in the pipe or duct. It will be observed that of the loops 13 each has one leg or branch 13" depending vertically from the header and substantially adjacent the vertical axis of the same and another leg or branch 13 also depending vertions 14' and 14" of loops 14. The loops are preferably arranged in sets, each set including a loop 13and a loop 14. A plate or fin 15 consisting of a plane sheet of metal, prefer-.

ably copper is interposed between the loops 13 and 14' of each'set and secured in good thermal contact with each loop as by. soldering. The loops are so arranged, as shown in Fig. 4 that the fiatside of loop 13 faces the flat side of loop 14 thus defining a horizontal plane which is occupied by the fin. -The fin consequently has loop 14 attached to its one side and loop 13 to the other side. In this manner the assembling of the fin and loops is facilitated. It is necessary only to insert a fin between the loops of a set and then solder same to theloops. I

By the staggered arrangement of the branches of a set, refrigerant is conveyed to various portions of the fin so that the entire surface is cooled. lBy staggering the branches and by arranging the breeehss so that the next adjacent branches are disposed on opposite sides of a tin, no pocket will be formed between adjacent branches and in this manner air can readily wipe over the surface of the fin next to the branches. 4

A tie-bar 16 suitably held in place as by soldering may be used to hold the bottoms of the finned loops in spaced relation, while the edges of the fins may be bent up and over, as

shown at 9, so as to strengthen the sheets of metal. The refrigerating element therefore provides a plurality of parallel channels or passages which guide the circulating air and cool the same. Due to such channels the efli ciencyof the refrigerating element is greater than that of a cake of ice since in the latter the cooling effect is limited to the surfaces of the ice block lapped by the circulating air.

Figs. 1 and 2 show the refrigerating element of the invention disposed in a display case refrigerator. In such capacity its function is to replace the blocks of ice normally used for circulating and cooling the air.

' ments constitute chilling chambers for cool- 'side top of the case.

ing the air and circulating the same and are formed by the end and side walls of the display counter, a portion of the bottom of the case immediately beneath the refrigerating element, and a similar portion on the top of the cabinet. Insulated baflle walls 22 and 22 are disposed inside the display case one at each end. These baflles are provided with openings or flues 23 at the top and similar openings 24 at the bottom to permit circulation of air through both the food storage section of the display case and the chilling chambers. Glass sides (not shown) similar in structure to the top are provided for the front, and if desired, for part or all of the rear of the'case. As shown in Fig. 2 the chilling chambers containing the refrigerating elements may be provided with doors 25 of any suitable type, either sliding, or as illustrated, of the hinged type. Similar doors may be disposed in the rear of the food coinpartment section of the display counter. The

chilling chambers by means of straps or ha n gers 26 as shown in Fig. 1, preferably clamped around the header 10 and screwed to the in- Shelves or trays for holding food'or the like may be interposed between the top and bottom of the display case as indicated by the dotted line inFig. 1 and these should be arranged so as not to interfere with free circulation of the air. This may be effected-by suitably spacing the trays from the sides of the case or by constructing the shelves of screening or the like.

In the operation of the refrigerating elements and the display case, the refrigerating medium in the vertically dependent legs ahsorbs heat from the surrounding air and hence serves to cool and circulate the same. The tins on the legs aid in increasing the effective radiating surface of the loops and to direct the air currents. The circulation of air in the display case is substantially as follows the warm air in the chilling chambers passes downwardly between the air channels formed by the fins on the dependent loops of the refrigerating elements. It is thus substantially cooled and flows downwardly and out into the body of, the display case through openings 24-. After bs0rbing the heat of the articles dis; played within the display case the heated air travels upwardly' and returns to the chilling chamb r by way of the fines 23 in the baflies 22. E: -h chilling chamber produces its own range of air circulation, the currents of which meet substantially in the center of the case,

thus insuring efficient cooling of the'entire in- ,of downwardly extending branch portions each thermally connected to one surface of the plate and conduit means thermally connected to the opposite surface of the plate.

2. A cooling unit adapted to be placed in the path of cooling medium flowing thereover for cooling such medium, said unit ineluding a heat absorbing plate or fin and refrigerant conduit means having a plurality of branch portions each thermally connected to one surface of the plate and a conduit means having a plurality of branch portions each thermally connected to the opposite surface of the plate.

3. A cooling unit adapted to be placed in the path of cooling medium flowing there over for cooling such medium, said unit inrefrigerating elements are mounted in the eluding a heat absorbing plate or fin and refrigerant conduit means including a duct loop th rmally connected throughout its entirety to one surface of the plate and conduit means thermally connected to the opposite surface of said plate.

4. A cooling unit adapted to be placed in thepath of cooling medium flowing thereover for cooling su medium, said unit insubstantially eluding a heat absorbing plate or fin and refrigerant conduit means including a duct loop thermally connected substantially throughout its entirety toone surface of the plate and another duct loop thermally connected substantially throughout its entirety to theopposite surface of the plate.

5. A cooling unit adapted to be placed in the path of cooling medium flowing there over for cooling such medium, said unit including a heat absorbing plate or fin and refrigerant; conduit means including a plurality of ductloops, said loops each having a plurality of vertically extending branch portions. and a horizontally extending branch portion connecting said vertically extending branch portions, at least two of the branch portions of one of said loops being thermally-connected to one surface of the plate and at'least two of the branch portions of another of'said loops beingthermally connected to the opposite surface of said plate.

6. A cooling unit adapted to be placed in the path of cooling medium flowing there:

over for cooling such medium, said unit including a heatabsorbing plate or fin and refrigerant conduit means including a plurality of duct loops, said loops each having a plurality of branch portions spaced from one another and from the branches of another loop, the branches of one loop being each thermally connected to one surface of the plate and the branches of another loop being each thermally connected to the opposite surface of the plate. i

7 A cooling unit adapted to be placed in the path of a-cooling medium flowing thereover for cooling such medium, said cooling unit including a plurality of heat absorbing plates or finsand refrigerating means for cooling said plates, said means including an elongated header arranged transversely to the plates, ducts connected with the header in parallel circuit relation and extending longitudinally with the plates, said. ductsbeing arranged in sets, and each set including a plurality of branch'portions thermally connected to the surface of .a plate and aplu- 'rality of branch portions thermally con nected to the opposite surface of said plate.

8. A cooling unit adapted to be placed in the path of a cooling medium flowing thereover for cooling such medium, said cooling unit including a plurality of heat absorbing plates or fins and refrigerating means for cooling said plates, said means including an elongated header arranged transversely to the plates, ducts connected with the header in parallel circuit relation and extending longitudinallywith the plates, said ducts being arranged in sets, and each set including a plurality of branch portions thermally connected to the surface of a plate and a plurality of branch portions spaced along the each including a plurality of loops spaced from one another along the length of the header and offset laterally from one another, and each of said sets having at least three downwardly extending portions thermally connected with one of the plates.

10. A cooling unit adapted to be placed in the path of a cooling medium flowing thereover for cooling such medium, said cooling unit including a plurality of heat absorbing plates or fins and refrigerating means for cooling said plates, said means including an elongated -header arranged transversely to the plates, a plurality of duct loops connected with the header in parallelcircuit relation,

said loops being arranged in sets of plurality of loops, the loops in the sets having substantially identical non-symmetrical shapes and alternate loops being reversely turned and offset laterally from one another, and each of said sets having at least three downwardly extending portions thermally connected with one of the plates.

.11. A cooling unit adapted to be placed in -the pathof a cooling medium flowing thereover for cooling such medium, said cooling unit including a plurality. of heat absorbing plates'or fins and refrigerating means for cooling said plates, said means including an elongated header arranged transversely to the plates, a plurality of duct loops connected with the header in parallel circuit relation,

said loops being arranged in sets of plurality of loops, the loops in the sets having substantially identical non-symmetrical shapes and alternate loops being reversely turned and ofiset laterally from one another, one of theloops of aset having a plurality of downwardly extending branch portions thermally connected with one surface of the plate and the other loops having a plurality of downwardly extending branch portions thermally connected with the opposite surface.

. In testimony whe'reofI hereto aifix my signature.

SYLVESTER MsonwELLER. 

